Press Room

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today denounced new efforts by the military to revoke the security clearance of a U.S. Navy nurse, calling it backdoor retaliation for his refusal to force-feed Guantánamo detainees on hunger strike. PHR said the nurse – who was honored today with an ethics award – should be commended rather than punished, and reiterated its call for President Obama to end force-feeding and ensure a policy of ethical recusal for all military health professionals.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today commended the American Nurses Association (ANA) for honoring a nurse who refused to take part in the unethical and criminal practice of force-feeding detainees on hunger strike at Guantánamo Bay. The ANA will present its Year of Ethics award to the nurse’s attorney during its membership meeting in Washington, D.C. on July 23.

PHR called for a federal criminal probe into the American Psychological Association’s (APA) role in the U.S. torture program following the release of a damning new report that confirms the APA colluded with the Bush administration to enable psychologists to design, implement, and defend a program of torture.

PHR announced the appointment of Kathleen M. Foley, MD, to its board of directors. Dr. Foley is an attending neurologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where she has worked for more than four decades.

Attacks on health care facilities in Syria reached the highest numbers yet in a single month since the start of the conflict in March 2011. In May alone, PHR documented 15 attacks on 14 medical facilities, including seven that had been attacked previously.